The Afghanistan Campaign, Part 4: The View from Kabul

Amid a surge of Western troops into Afghanistan, a raging Taliban insurgency and Pakistan's attempts to consolidate its influence in the country, Kabul is being pulled in many directions. The government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, now at the beginning of its second five-year term, is trying to secure its own future as well as balance the ambitions of other key players, all while preventing the already war-torn country from becoming a proxy battleground. Editor's Note: This is the latest in a series of analyses on the principal players in the Afghanistan war.